


The Merchant

by yaodai



Series: Rebellious [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Gen, everyone knows maul but ezra the continution, hera syndulla plays a role too, maul takes the kids on a trip, well ezra takes himself along for this trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-19 13:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8210144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaodai/pseuds/yaodai
Summary: Finally having a location where they could acquire the cybernetic eyes for Kanan, the Ghost crew faces a whole new question: is it worth it? Or rather, do they have anything worthy enough to pay with?





	1. All For One

"Rebellious"

 

Part 5(a): All For One

Ezra used to wish for the Lasat to leave their room, to joke how the place needed air refreshers and stuff, how Zebs things were constantly clustered all over the floor because the man had no shame at all. If not for Ezra, things would probably grow in there and develop a civilization. Zeb usually just snorted when the messy life-style was pointed out, some other times he handed him a rag – because if he had an issue with the state of the room he could make it presentable. Ezra usually did. With Zeb gone, their room suddenly appeared to be way too big for one person, too clean to really feel like home. It was too quiet too.

Ezra ended up wandering off and spending the time outside of it as long as he could, but Sabine was also gone, visiting her Mandalorian friend and the Ghost also felt empty. And tense.

Hera was all tense nerves and sitting on needless, staring down the comm link like it would make things like space travel work quicker or the communication between ships in hyperspace possible.

Kanan was... well, even looking at Kanan was making Ezra feel guilty.

He was the one who dragged them to Malachor, who wanted to unravel the secrets, who... Ezra shook his head. Thinking like that, it wouldn't lead to anything, good or bad. Besides, they found Maul, who clearly needed help and who was now helping them. Regretting going to Malachor would be like regretting rescuing him. Rescuing people definitely counted as a good thing, no matter what.

The Zabrak was another reason for everyone on the ship to be more antsy than usual. He was a former Sith and was not hiding it. On the other hand, he wasn't doing typical Sith things either. Just sitting in solitude and building things out of spare parts. The rest of the crew were watching both him and Ezra like a hawk, expecting the former Sith to start corrupting Ezra or do something as evil as that.

It was understandable - Maul was still an unknown, still a potential danger, ridiculously skilled and with an unknown agenda. Well, he was going to have an unknown agenda for awhile if nobody actually talked to him. And okay, maybe Ezra was a little bit too curious about the former Sith.

The rest of the crew was not making it any better, doing everything to keep him away from Maul in fear that the Zabrak would try and turn him to the Dark Side or something.  
Maul was actually humoring them and playing nice, not even talking to Ezra without someone else supervising.

There was also no mention of the Sith Holocron either. Ezra had no clue where the ancient artifact was hidden, besides the fact it was somewhere on the ship. He felt somewhat tempted to look for it, because the treasure hunt would take his mind away from the dark and gloom – and he would be searching just for the sake of search itself, not because he wanted to use it - but decided against it. It was… too big to just toy around with it. And it would make Kanan and everyone else even more agitated. So no, that search was a no-no.

Ezra made a small, annoyed hum, then carefully looked around, to check if he was still unseen.  
He couldn’t look for the Holocron, but there were definitely other things to poke at. He was heading towards the workshop. Maul wasn't there – currently out on a trip with Zeb of all people - but the things he was working on were and Ezra was too curious to not snoop around when he had a chance to do so.

The workshop usually was in a state of artistic mess, with random tools, flimsi with schematics and other things lying around. The mechanical parts and electronics were stuffed in boxes and shining around them in piles. Ezra had no idea how many times he accidentally stepped on something small and hard. It definitely was a lot. Now the workshop looked... different. Apparently among the other things, Maul was also a neat freak. Or bored out of his mind. There was still a lot of things, but now they were carefully sorted. Instead of spilling around randomly, there were now even rows of spare parts.

"I had no idea we had so many memory chips," Ezra muttered, looking through the items.

The working place itself was the most interesting. There were four oval droids resting on the left side and a fifth one in the middle of it, still only half finished. He curiously gawked at it, having a chance to look at how droid looked on the inside for the first time. It looked... much less complicated than he expected to be, trough Ezra had only a vague idea why things were connecting in this way and not the other. His knowledge was very spotty, though, he learned just the very basics from Hera and she was hovering over his shoulder the whole time, ready to give a hint at any moment.

There was a flimsi nearby, with something that looked more like a sketch than actual schematics: a carefully drawn outside shell of the round droid and then vague, lazy swirls connected with lines in different colors. They probably meant something to Maul, same as the rows of calculations on the side; they were also half-way done, many steps missing to the point Ezra had no idea what it all was even meaning.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh, hi Hera?" Ezra smiled widely, trying to put away the flimsi in a way that would be hard to notice for the Twi'lek.

"You shouldn't be poking around here," she said, still with a frown on her face.

Ezra sighed. "I know, okay? But I'm curious," he admitted. "Besides, it's not like I can actually read any of these."

Hera raised an eyebrow at him. Then her gaze slowly wandered towards the schematics on the table and the half-done droid. Silent for a few short moments, she made a decision. "Let me see these."

"And what happened to snooping being wrong?"

"I'm just making sure it won't blow up my ship," Hera said without missing a beat.

"Damn, you're good!" Ezra obediently handed her the flimsi.

"Huh," Hera blinked after a moment of investigating the sheet. "It looks like a flying camera and - what a surprise! - it actually is a flying camera."

"You were seriously expecting to find something dangerous?"

"I have no idea what to expect," she admitted with a sigh. "I still don't."

"...so, can you read these?"

"I can guess," she said with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like these droids are very complicated. Quite the opposite, it looks like he was dumbing them down on purpose."

"What for? We don't have some parts, or something?"

"The parts are here," she shook her head. "It looks like he was looking for a way to fry them easily."

"Fry?"

"Yeah, look here," she pointed out inside the half-finished droid, her fingertips brushing along the colorful wires inside. "These shouldn't even be near each other, if it overheats it would kill the whole camera instantly, all the hardware and programming would die too."

"Then... why is he doing that?"

"Making it look like these were created by an amateur?" Hera tilted his head.

"Uh-huh," Ezra nodded. Making something breakable on purpose seemed to be just odd. A waste of resources, a waste of all the time spend on building the thing in the first place... he couldn't quite wrap his head around it.

"This is probably how paranoia looks like," she said dryly.

 

xxx

 

Sabine was walking in front of the table instead of sitting by it like rest of the crew did. She needed to move around, because her legs felt stiff after flying for so long, she told them. She was also the only person in the room who wasn't paying much attention to Maul looming in the doorway.

The Zabrak seemed to be occupied by his own thoughts, leaning against the doorframe with his hands crossed on his chest, but it wasn't making him any less eye-catching. He was just sticking out so much, his skin a spot of darkness in the well-lit room.

"So, I was talking with Ketsu and she said there are people that can have the stuff we need," she talked, making yet another circle. "The problem is, finding these people is going to take months. With the Empire out there being more and more active they're getting really paranoid."

"We don't have months," Hera said winkling her nose.

Ezra felt his shoulders dropping. These were bad news. The fact that they actually had so much time without a mission was simply a matter of Hera calling on favors, but those were about to run out at some point, same as the food rations and the fuel. He overheard her talking about doing something costly with the life support system too, which probably was very important.

“We might have found someone?” Zeb said carefully, not looking up. Until now he was drawing patterns across the lines on the table, with his ears slightly dropped, eyes half-blooded in concentration. “I think. I don’t understand what happened, but we do have a location.”

“You do?” Sabine asked quickly, stopping dead in place.“Who?”

“A merchant?” Zeb said unsure.

Sabine brow furrowed further. “A merchant or The Merchant?”

“There’s a difference?”

She groaned in frustration and smacked her forehead with a loud splat.

The Lasat merely shrugged. “So, it looks like there is one. What’s the deal?”

“The deal is,” Hera started. “That person is a myth.”

“No, I’m pretty sure the Merchant was running deals with the Back Suns,” Sabine said, running fingers through her hair. The short, colorful fringe became even more pointy than before. “Or rather, a very few of the members of the Black Suns and they refused to talk about it. Someone spilled and then disappeared. “

“I don’t like this,” Hera said.

“This sounds like a bad idea,” Kanan agreed. “It’s not worth the risk. If that person goes to such lengths just to stay hidden I have no idea just how bad they would react to strangers suddenly showing up.”

“We can’t just give up like that!” Ezra protested. “We have to try! We already have so much!”

“Ezra…” Hera started slowly.

It was all unfair. Kanan deserved more, Kanan deserved for them to try instead of hide in defeat because things were dangerous. He almost felt like all the hope was slipping away from his fingers, leaving him torn between walking out to cry in a corner and hitting the table with both of his fists, preferably until the surface broke.

“Not complete strangers,” Maul picked this moment to join the conversation. “I’ve dealt with them before.”

“You did?” Sabine raised an eyebrow. “Well, you look alive, which is a good thing. Through… how did you make the contact in the first place?”

“I simply had something the Merchant wanted.”

That explained little to nothing. It was annoying, Ezra decided, to not know the whole story, to not know what that thing the mysterious stranger wanted or who it was. Or even if he still existed.

“Do you think we have something at our disposal now?” Hera asked, crossing hands over her chest. “We’re pretty much scrapping by and this sounds… expensive. That sort of expensive we wouldn’t be able to afford without taking big risks.”

“I believe you have just the thing,” Maul smiled.

“What?” Kanan asked. “What is it? The Holocron? Because I’m not willing to give something like that away. It’s too dangerous-“

“Malachor.”

“What?” Hera blinked rapidly.

“The planet is uncharted, safe for the maps from things like Holocrons and the things the Emperor has under heavy guard,” Maul explained. “Therefore it’s impossible to travel there.”

“And why the Merchant would want to go there in the first place?”

“An ancient temple, riddled with equally ancient weaponry lying around?” Maul chuckled softly. “I believe the temptation would be too strong for the Merchant to refuse us.”

“There were kyber crystals there,” Kanan said, his voice grim. “I’m still not sure…”

“Most of them were either damaged or plain out broken to be really of use,” Ezra quickly cut him out. “I’ve tried to activate one of the lightsabers, remembered? It broke instantly and I picked the one that looked best.”

Kanan still looked unsure, fingers balled into fists on the table surface, mouth twisted in an unhappy grimace, shoulders painfully tense. Hera looked at hit with a worried furrow for a moment, wrapping arms around herself even harder than before. Then her expression changed. A decision was made.

She turned towards Maul. “Are you certain it is going to work?”

“Fairly well,” he replied without missing a beat.

“I’m willing to give it a try,” Hera declared with a steel look in her eyes. “I don’t care about that space rock and I don’t think someone dealing with criminals would be interested in working with the Empire so they won’t get their hands on any crystal that somehow survived. I don’t think they even would be interested in digging through scrap in the first place.”

“Hera-“

“No!” she stomped hard, cutting Kanan out. “You are worth the risk, Kanan Jarrus! You helped so many people, you put your life on the line so many times. Now it’s our turn to do the same.”

“So it’s settled!” Zeb clapped his hands together. “We are going to sell a planet!”

“Uh, guys?” Sabine tilted her head. “The enthusiasm is cute and all, but don’t you think that taking a ship like the Ghost would be like asking for it?”

“You think we should just send the Phantom?” Hera asked. "That sounds reasonable, though I would like to have the Ghost close enough, just in case."

“I want to go!” Ezra almost jumped in his seat.

“No!” Both Maul and Kanan protested at the same moment. The Jedi shook his head and then turned towards Maul, brow furrowed over the white surface of bandages and shoulders tense, before he nodded. There was some sort of an silent conversation going on between those two and they apparently came to an agreement. 

“No?” Ezra asked, feeling disappointment. He hoped that they would understand, that at least Maul would know that he's capable and ready to do things instead of sitting back. Ezra didn't want to sit back and stare, he didn't want to watch others fight again, especially not after what had happened to Ahsoka. 

“Merchant is not fond of Force sensitives,” Maul explained, noticing the curious - suspicious, Ezra decided, still suspicious no matter how much the former Sith already helped them- stares, his voice still calm and soft. “Just two of us is pushing it.”

“You want to go alone with Kanan then,” Hera said slowly. She didn’t sound too happy, suspicion yet again raising in her voice.

“And the Mandalorian,” Maul added.

“I can go,” Sabine nodded, making her decision in a split of second. “I’ll make sure everything works out fine… and I’ll admit, now I’m curious about this Merchant more than even before.”

“Do I even got a say in this?” Kanan sighed deeply.

“No,” the girl smirked at him. “I don’t think you do.”


	2. Planet Junkyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul, Sabine and Kanan travel to meet the Merchant who probably has the artificial eyes Kanan need. Ezra invites himself over for this trip.

Rebellious

Part 5 (b): Planet Junkyard

Crawling into the supply closed was definitely not the best idea in his entire life. It was also a proof that Ezra Bridger was a growing boy, because a few weeks ago this place definitely appeared to be much bigger than it was now.

However he really needed to go wherever Kanan was going. It was Ezra's fault the Jedi Knight got wounded in the first place and the last he could do was to make sure Kanan was safe.

Ezra was rarely using this closet as a hiding place; he preferred the vents, since in there he actually could move around as much as he wanted, but the closets were usually okay too. However he usually had little to no reason to hide on the Phantom, so he wasn’t in this particular hiding spot in months. And it seemed to be much, much smaller that he remembered. That or he was growing.

Which was bad, but that was a thing to worry about In some other time, preferably without random items painfully pushing against his backs. And when he had the mental capability to think about the issue. Because right now he was concentrating very, very hard to hide, to stay unseen both physically and in the Force and that was more than just difficult.

Only half of an hour passed since the Phantom left and his forehead was already sweating, with an unpleasant migraine slowly growing right behind his eyes.

Ezra shifted slightly, because not only his leg was hurting; keeping still in one position was definitely not the best idea for hiding.

 As he moved his leg, something else was also shuffled around and then there was an avalanche. Literally. The shelf behind him suddenly slipped off the hinges, the content dropped down overweighting the one beneath and making it crack and then everything fell on the ground, busting through the doors and spilling all over the Phantom floor, with Ezra drifting among all the items flooding out of the closet.

Kanan turned around and made a very condescending grimace while Sabine and Maul just stared at him.

“Um,” Ezra grinned widely, trying to dig himself from under whatever items landed on top of him. “Hi?”

"Ezra!" Sabine groaned and hid  face in the palm of her hand in a gesture of utter disbelief. "What in the world were you even thinking!"

"What were you thinking indeed," Kanan said with a heavy, disappointed sigh. The upper side of his face was covered in bandages, but Ezra didn’t need to see his eyes to tell how much his master disapproved with what Ezra did. It was all in the body language; how Kanan crossed his eyes on his chest, how his head tilted to the side and slightly forward as if he was glaring, in how his legs shifted.

"I just wanted to help!" Ezra protested, standing up and patting away the dust that got onto his clothes. "I'm sorry, but I really do want to help! All I do now is sitting onboard the Ghost and, and...!"

"I have another question," Maul said, looking down at Ezra. "How did you managed to hide?"

"I uh... stuffed myself into the closet?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Mauls eyes twitched in annoyance. "I would like to hear an explanation. Preferably now."

"Uh..." Ezra looked at Kanan, but there was no escape. The Jedi looked like he shared opinion with the former Sith and wasn't going to let it all just go. "Well, you are able to hide from other force users, so it's possible and all. I've tried this and that... and this is hard. Like really, really hard!"

"You learned this on your own?" Kanan asked with disbelief, then tilted his head in the direction of Maul.

"I certainly have nothing to do with it," Maul answered the silent question. "However, I am curious just how did you manage to use the Force to hide your presence from me. Talk me through it."

"I made a... bubble?" Ezra tried. "It's hard to explain, really. But to hide you need someplace to shield you from the eyes and in the force there are no random things to hide behind... so I made a bubble that kept my signature - that's how you call it? - close to myself and not to radiate all over the place?"

There was a moment of silence.

"...is this is how this is supposed to work?" Kanan slowly asked.

"Definitely not," Maul said, he opened his mouth as if to continue, but stopped himself.

"I can see how it could work," he said instead. "However it also appears to be exhausting. This is not the time to talk about such things anyway."

"Will there be the time?" Ezra grunted.

"It might be, it might be not," Kanan cut him out. "Just don't try anything like that without telling me first, alright?"

"Sounds fair," Ezra nodded.

“Good,” the Jedi nodded. “Now clean the mess you made.”

Ezra’s eyes widened. “I can stay?”

“We are not tossing you out of the airlock,” Sabine snickered. “So I guess you’re staying.”

“Not too long ago it was too dangerous to take me on this mission,” the words left his mouth before he managed to bite himself in the tongue.

“Yes,” Kanan gravely agreed. “And you went against direct orders and put everyone here at risk. I see no reason for going forward. We should turn away this instant, before something happen.”

“And if Merchant decides to leave his current hiding place?” Sabine asked. “We can’t risk that!”

“I won’t risk anybody’s life just to see again!” Kanan protested.

“We all have a choice what we want to do with our life,” she huffed angrily at him. “Don’t you dare take it away from me. And besides, Ezra is just a kid. He looks the part. You really think that Merchant, whoever it is, would mind a kid so much to pull out a gun?”

"Well, would they?" Kanan asked, turning his head slightly to face Maul.

"They might," the Zabrak said with a soft smile. "You severely underestimate what people are capable of when it comes to fighting for their life."

"There surely are some rules!" Kanan protested.

"Morality is just a construct," Maul smirked. "A very comfortable one to lean on while relatively safe."

"That's an awful way of thinking."

"Your opinion is your own to have," Maul said with a small shrug. "However do not be surprised if it's going to cost you your life."

Kanan decided to not answer to that. He turned his head slightly away from the former Sith, the corner of his mouth was twitching. That was his angry face, Ezra could recognize it with ease. He never lashed out in anger, he was always the one backing off and brooding until whatever made him unbalanced boiled off and the jedi-like clarity of mind was back.

Ezra didn’t like the cynical commentary either, but it was hard to not see at least some reason behind the words; in the past fear was what held people from helping a little kid, suddenly orphaned, with parents named traitors and arrested and home closed shut and called a restricted zone. Fear was also what led Ezra himself through almost half of his life, when he was rationalizing not doing so many things.

However not listening to his fears and taking action instead was what made him feel alive again. It could be just the thrill of adrenaline or the sensation of having people helping him and caring about him again, but Ezra was not going to give up on the right thing if there was any other choice.

 

xxx

 

"We're getting close," Sabine said. "We will jump out of the hyperspace in the next few minutes. Is this the good time to ask what is the plan? It would be nice to know it."

"Just keep your helmet on your head, Vizsla," Maul said.

"Are you expecting to fight?" Kanan asked, tensing up.

"There might be one," Maul admitted like it was nothing. "I hope that it won’t happen, but wishful thinking is not the greatest survival strategy."

"I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this," Kanan grunted.

They appeared in a star system Ezra couldn't name; space looked very similar no matter where you were.

According to what he learned about it, it was nearby one of the trade routes. The system with planets without any useful natural resources long, long time ago were used as a military bases, but over the centuries the republic abandoned the old posts and some centuries later they were turned into yet another space dumpsters. Apparently it was much cheaper than destroying the trash or transporting it somewhere where it could be used to make something new.

"This is kinda weird place to hide," Ezra mumbled, looking through the window to see better. The surface definitely did not look inviting even before they entered the orbit. It was more of a labyrinth of metal and plasteel and whatever there was, with high, pointy towers here and there in shapes of sharp teeth. It looked almost like they were flying into the jaws of a humongous sarlacc. It was probably going to smell like that too.

"You would be surprised how many things can be hidden on planets such as this one," Maul said. "Besides, being an outpost the planet is interesting for more reasons than just a decent hiding place."

"Creepy abandoned places, just what everyone loves," Sabine  quipped. "I'm about to get down. Where should we land?"

"This is a good question," Maul shamelessly admitted.

Ezra looked at him, Sabine did that too, with very annoyed expression on her face.

"The Merchant hid here precisely to not be found and we don't have an invitation," Maul explained. "There are other ways to find who we need to talk too."

Kanan nodded.

"If we are going to meet that merchant of yours, the Force would lead the way," he said calmly. Then paused, turning his head slightly as if he was looking at Maul. "Do you wish to search together?"

Maul raised eyebrows. "This might be an interesting experience."

The space ship that supposedly was a vessel of the mysterious Merchant they were searching for looked like it belonged to the trash pile it was resting on.

The sides of the ancient looking GS-100 were bend and scarred, splashed in brown-red stains that looked like rust. Long time ago it was probably wearing some sort of paint on its hull, something big and with giant teeth, but now it was impossible to tell apart. Just more stains in dimmed, unpleasant colors. Or so Ezra hoped; there were other things that could stain things brownish and the dark marks of blasterfire here and there were making him feel more than a little uneasy.

"Are you sure this is it?" Sabine asking, furrowing her brow.

"Yes, I recognize this ship," Maul nodded.

"It looks like it was in that trash pile for awhile now," she mumbled, uncertain.

"Your point is?"

"There's trash on top of it," Sabine pointed out. "There is trash on the sides too. It's buried in trash."

"So it is."

"You really want to tell us that someone purposefully moved all this junk to hide a messed up space vessel on a junkyard of a planet?"

"Vizsla, I'm as happy to be here as you are," Maul said. "Probably even less.”

“I do have a name, you know,” Sabine huffed angrily. Her colorful hair were contrasting vividly with the gloomy surrounding.

“I am perfectly aware of that fact, Vizsla. Now, If you please put your helmet on and lower the sensitivity as much as it is possible…”

“What, you want me to be blind now?” She commented sourly. Then her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, realizing what she just said. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine,” Kanan reassured her softly, before turning towards Maul. “I believe there is a reason behind that?”

“The easiest way to fight with a Force sensitive being is to make it impossible for them to use the Force,” Maul replied. He sounded almost like he was finding the entire situation funny.

“Make it impossible…?” Kanan repeated after them.

“Sensitivity…” Sabine repeated after him, and then her eyes widened. She turned instantly, glaring with accusation burning in her eyes.  “You expect a trap.”

“Indeed,” Maul replied softly with a nod.

“And you decided to tell us now, when we literally stands in front of the doors?”

Maul chuckled. “Just a feeling.”

“Just a feeling, my ass!” Sabine grunted, putting her helmet on. “If things will get shitty…”

“That’s exactly why you are here, Vizsla.”

The frustrated noise that came out from the Mandalorian girl was utterly terrifying, and set made Ezra’s hair to stand up, but the crazy old Zabrak merely chuckled out some more.

“So, what's the plan? We just walk in through the front doors and hope for the best?” Sabine asked. “Because if I do what you're telling me to do, then I'm not going to be the best shot around.”

“I would prefer if you don't shot at all.”

“Even when they will shot at us?”

“We're going there to talk, not to murder.”

“...you force-guys really love to make my life more difficult.” Sabine whined. Then she, finally, raised her hand and started to manipulate the settings of her helmet.

Walking up the rusty ramp and entering the ship was like wandering straight into opened jaws of some ancient, humongous monster.

It was very dark inside, dark and crowded, with miscellaneous boxes and containers riddled across the wide room. There were things, crunching under their feet no matter how carefully they were making their steps and each movement caused the things that dangled from the high, high ceiling move.

At first glance, Ezra couldn't tell what he was even looking at, but then he got close enough to one of the hanged shapes to make out the details. He barely swallowed his scream, because it was a hand, fingers like claws reaching down towards him, steel joints dimmed to the point they were barely reflecting any light. There were just so many, high up, almost touching the ceiling, stripped from the outer layers to the point they looked skeletal and wrong. Like a creepy scarecrows, entire droid bodies were also among the creepy decor, their bodies rocking slowly, making creaky, creepy noises and clattering against each other.

Some of the faceplates were painted. It wasn't the pretty, colorful job like the things Sabine created, nor the simple but suggestive shapes Rex and other clones had painted on their helmets.

It was much more detailed, much more realistic. Plain terrifying too. There were sharp teeth and strong jaws, splattered with red paint to look like they were covered in blood. Sometimes it was made to look like parts of the skin of painted beasts were removed and things that were usually hidden under it were shown in their full disturbing grace.

Ezra swallowed, trying to ignore it all. It wasn't the time to be freaked out by some disturbing art. He tried to ignore it, but this whole place gave him this bad, bad feeling about the entire situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello there!  
> This chapter grew out of control, so three parts instead of two.
> 
> I'm greatly enjoying writing Kanan and Maul interact with each other; because there was no face-stabbing and apprentice-stealing their relationship is waaay different than the one in canon. I'm starting to have a feeling they actually enjoy spending time with each other.


	3. The Merchant

Rebellious

Part V (c): The Merchant

 

There should be people in here. It looked abandoned and creepy, but there was little to no dust on the floor of the ship hidden under the trash pile and the air was perfectly breathable too; he could even hear the soft buzz of life support system working.  
It was still creepy, but it was intentionally made to make people feel uneasy, Ezra decided.  
The Merchant wanted the intruders scared out of their wits, wanted them to have trouble with moving around freely, wanted to hear them walk…

Ezra closed his eyes and concentrated. If the place was set for people to be heard, the other side also should be noticeable. He just needed to catch something, to find them in the Force.  
The ship appeared to be just an empty husk, a shell left behind a long time ago.  Ezra slowly reached up further. There were some animals outside, scavengers who spend life digging through trash, some other small life forms.  
Inside the ship, however…

Ezra furrowed his brow.

There! There was someone, just one person, the signature similarly dim to the ones that belonged to not Force sensitive people. He concerned on it, trying to pinpoint just where it was…

Ezra wasn't sure what came first, the sudden, burning flash of light or the deafening noise, erupting from the speakers and the droids. Instinctively, he curled up and closed his eyes shut, trying to become as small target as it was possible, shielding his head with both hands.

Having his eyes closed wasn't helping much, the light was so bright it felt like burning. The air temperature spiked up to the point of unpleasant hotness, but it was nothing compared to the sound. The noise seemed to not only attack his ears, but to resonate through his teeth and deep in the bones, making him feel as if he was about to break like a piece of glass.

Ezra sucked the air in - his lungs were feeling painfully empty, did he scream? He couldn't tell, he couldn't hear and breathing in was even worse. Something was spilled in the air, something that viciously bit into his air track and lungs. Before he could stop himself, Ezra started coughing, his body trying to get rid of the irritant and ended up taking in even more.

It hurt and Ezra had no idea what was going on besides the fact that he was scared and what if that gas was poisonous, they've should know better than just walk in a place like that, what was Maul even thinking leading them here…!

His head felt like it was splitting even after the noise disappeared; there was  that awful ringing in his ears that seemed to be coming from the inside of his skull. The pangs of intense pain, because sudden flash blinded him and then that vile, vile substance sprayed in the air that made everything itch and burn.

Maul had warned them. Somewhat.  A little bit. He told them that whoever the Merchant was, it wasn't a fan of Force sensitive people. There was a suggestion in these words and in the fact that Maul didn't want them all to go there and definitely not Ezra because of him being Force user. There was a way for people to fight against Jedi and Sith and all that was in between and the Merchant definitely perfected it.

Ezra wiped the tears of his face and blinked rapidly, trying to regain at least some of his sense of sight.

The first thing he noticed was Sabine, or rather a vague shape colorful enough to be the Mandalorian female. He knees were bend, her back straight, she was pointing her guns at something. Ready to move, ready to protect them from whatever was coming.

Now he knew why Maul wanted Sabine on the team. Was he expecting something like this to happen? Did he know it will happen? What was he thinking, what was he planning, what if it was all some completely crazy trap and they just stepped right into it? He was suddenly becoming suspicious of Maul and he hated it, because everyone deserved a chance and the Zabrak did nothing but helped them, but this mess was just too much and Ezra was petrified, because he literally couldn't tell what was going on and Kanan was even more defenseless...

A warm hand was placed on his shoulder, instantly calming him down.

Breathe, Ezra told himself.

The air was not filled with whatever nasty gas was in it few moments before and there was a cold, fresh feeling of wind on this face; the ventilation was on and it was working at full power.  
It... was a good thing. Because they could be easily killed, but they were still breathing and someone was making sure they continue to do so, which was also a very good thing.

He finally could see well enough to tell what Sabine was pointing her guns at.  
There was someone standing in front of them, in an armor that covered most of the body and made it impossible to tell what race it was, besides the fact it was humanoid.  
The face was also covered with a slick, round face-plate that was perfectly hiding the face and even the shape of the head.

Whoever it was, the person in armor was armed with a long, dark weapon that looked awfully like whatever they wanted to sell to Vizago so long ago and what freaked out Zeb so much.  
The noose was pointed straight at Maul.

Ezra felt his heart dropping, because Maul was on one knee with his hands raised up, while the other person had a finger on the trigger and oh, Force, what if they pull it?

"That was quite the warm welcome," Maul said with a chuckle in his voice that was completely not suited for the situation they were currently in. With the inner side of his wrist, Maul wiped the corner of his eye - so the Sith were not impervious to tear gas - making the motion almost mockingly slow.

"Long time no see," he continued, not bothered by the weapon so brutal it was forbidden even by the Empire pointed right at his face.

"That's one shitty leg you have," the armored person commented in heavily modified voice. It sounded more like a droid with a busted speakers than a human being.

"It is," Maul agreed.

"You brought Jedi with you."

"The Galaxy is currently in the most peculiar situation and  we are all looking for allies where we can," Maul answered. "Don't you agree?"

"So... are we killing each other or not?" Sabine asked. "I don't mind either, but my arms are starting to cramp, so make up your mind?"

"You and your pet Mandos..." the person - Merchant? - finally lowered their gun. "I don't know how did you find me, but you were always the one to pull something out of your ass. Since you're already here, come, let's talk, my friend is going to take care of yours. Zombie."

The doors on the far side of the room opened almost instantly at the quiet command and another person entered the room.

It was a Twi'lek woman, wearing what Twi'lek women usually did in a shady bars - more of a skimpy lingerie than actual clothes - in an act of mockery.

The nickname was fitting her to a T - The left side appeared to look just fine, but then the surface of pretty, bluish skin was disrupted with wide, ragged scars crawling from the right side. One of her legs a prosthetic, metal surface reaching all way to her hip, the scarred line where the metal and flesh were fused clearly visible next to the skimpy side of her shorts.

The scarring continued up her torso, all the way to her face. A bit of her lekku was missing, same as her eye and a bit of cheek and the right corner of her mouths, obscuring the teeth.

She wasn't carrying around a molecular disruptor, but her blaster, despite the much smaller size still looked menacing. And like it was destined more to spray whoever she was shooting at with a rain of fire instead of single shots.

Maul stood up and followed the Merchant with his hands behind his back, acting like nothing was wrong at all.

"I like this less and less," Kanan commented.

"I'm with you on that one," Sabine muttered, walking towards them.

Her blasters were safely put away, but she still looked tense and the Twi'lek woman wasn't making her feel better.

Ezra shared the sentiment, no matter how wrong it was; she just looked more like a part of this creepy painted droids collection than a real being.

"You seem to be well prepared for our visit," Kanan put a charming smile on his face and turned in the general direction of where the footsteps were coming from.

It wasn't that difficult, Zombie was not trying to hide her presence at all and the metal leg was making a clanking noise each time the woman made a step.

"Do you often have visitors like us?"

"No," Zombie said, her voice nothing like sweet and soothing Hera, the only one Twi'lek Ezra ever met. It was as roughed up as the rest of her appearance. "But we knew you were coming here."

"Someone warned you?" Sabine's eyes instantly narrowed.

Ezra had no idea what to think about this situation either; he had not seen Maul making any attempts at communicating with anyone and he wouldn't be able to do so onboard the Phantom unnoticed anyway.  
Was this some sort of a tactic to make them stressed and distrustful? But why? They already agreed to talk instead of murdering each other and after not killing them while they were coughing their lungs out it would be just overdoing it anyway.

Ezra closed his eyes.

If the answers were not visible or to be heard, there was a whole other way to find them.  
Maul was impossible to find in the Force if he didn't want to be found - and he had no reason to want that anyway - so Ezra wasn't surprised when he didn't managed to notice his presence nearby.  
Kanan however was very easy to notice. He felt warm and safe, but there were also complicated twists and turns, shadows of many, many emotions in his Force signature. It was very complicated and definitely alive.

Sabine, while not Force sensitive was also easy to find, at least for Ezra - it was because he knew her well enough to make bonds, which worked a little bit like making an invisible net of connection with other people and all he had to do was to follow a string to find the person he was looking for, at least when they dumbed the whole process down to the point it was actually understandable. She was very strong, almost forceful.

The Twi'lek woman was the only unfamiliar being Ezra was able to find. He couldn't put a finger how exactly she felt like, it was somehow slippery and oily, escaping his grasp each time he was reaching out. That wasn't what confused him.

What was truly odd, was the fact he couldn't tell where the Merchant was at all. He just saw that person leaving the room, definitely not going anywhere far because there was nowhere to go on foot, and yet, Ezra couldn't feel a thing. It should be impossible, because every living thing was supposed to be connected and all. And yet.

It was just like with Maul. The Zabrak could poke him in the ribs and still be perfectly invisible in the Force.

Ezra blinked because maybe, just maybe there was an answer in all that. Maybe he knew why the Merchant let them live once they recognized Maul, maybe he knew what exactly the Merchant wanted when they first contacted Maul too.

A second person approached them, walking through the ground so silently, Ezra noticed them only after the armored figure was standing but a few steps from him.

He jumped back in  surprise, staring at the stranger. The armor was the exact copy of what the Merchant was wearing, through whoever was hiding inside it was about two or three inches higher.  
Zombie tilted her head to the side, her whole lekku following the movement, observing the newcomer with attention. She was barely blinking and clearly waiting for something to happen. Something that could be - will be - very important.

Merchants doppelganger walked slowly towards them, completely ignoring Sabine who was about to pull out her guns again. Ezra was also ignored, despite his obvious staring.  
Something was up in the air, something tense, something long awaited. The Force was whirling in anticipation.

The armored copy-cat stopped in front of Kanan, chin raised up to look the blind Jedi right in the face.

"Your visit here was foretold," the eerie, synthesized voice sounded surreal, like something out of badly recorder holo, or part of a dream. "Caleb Dume."

Kanan jerked away with a surprised gasp.

"How did you know that name?" he demanded more than asked.

Ezra blinked in confusion. Who was Caleb Dume?

"Nobody was using it in years!" Kanan continued, his voice still shaky and nervous and filled with so many other emotions. "I wasn't using this name in years!"

"You can wear a different name, you can put on as many masks as you like," the masked person said. "Yet in the Force, you're still the same."

Ezra stole a glance at Sabine, but the girl looked as confused as he was. Kanan wasn't really Kanan... except he was.

Using a pseudonym while he was hiding from the Empire was a smart thing to do and using a name for a long, long period of time would make the name be much more familiar that whatever people calling him before. Ezra was Dev Morgan for a short period of time and from time to time he also was Jabba.

All he understood was the fact that outing someone like that was not nice.

"I am not the same," Kanan shook his head, looking painfully defeated.

"That is just your perception of things," the person hidden under the armor said. "I am merely telling you how I see it."

Kanan furrowed his brow.

"Are you... were you a Jedi?"

"Does that matter anymore? A Sith is helping you."

"You can use the Force," Kanan stated. "That's how you know. "

Oh, Ezra thought.

That made at least some sense. Even before he actually started his training, he had these flashes. A sudden certainty that something was going to happen, or that there was a danger awaiting and he should pick another path.  
However, Kanan suggested that this person was able to push this Force thing so much further, to notice so much more... it was crazy. It should be impossible.

"We are going to meet again, Caleb Dume," the armored person continued. "Once you were standing on the crossroad, but now, the path was already picked. You have no way to turn back now."

"Is this a threat?"

"Merely a statement," Zombie said. "For Seer, the future had already happened."

"...the future?" Sabine asked, suspicious easily noticeable in the tone of her voice and in the distrustful grimace on her face.

"How... how much of it?" Kanan asked, his voice still shaking a bit.

Zombie shrugged. "Hours. Days. Months. Sometimes more."

"This is..." Kanan gasped. "This is unbelievable!"

"This is why your bodies didn't hit the floor," she stated coldly. "Your Zabrak friend, he was clever enough to make sure some things are passed on if he dies here."

Ezra wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it. Blackmail theoretically speaking was bad but at the same time it was the thing that kept them alive during this meeting. Besides, Malachor seemed like more than enough, so it wasn't like these guys were getting ripped off. Quite the opposite. Despite the situation, the offer was just too tempting to refuse or to even demand more.

As he expected, Maul returned to them not at a gunpoint, but with a small box in his hands.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next installment: Kanan spending quality time with Maul. Lots of it.

**Author's Note:**

> It's starting to be a thing in my stories, with first half being filled with talking and the other with the characters actually doing something.  
> On the other hand, not many people are too fond of working their way through fics of monstrous size, so chopping things in half is like, more reasonable? I think I need to find a third way to do things.
> 
> I enjoy writing Maul interacting with other characters. That's probably my favorite thing in the whole fic writing business, not even punching other people in the faces, but simply interacting with them, observing characters form or change opinions and so on.


End file.
